P1: IMLLE128-26 LE128-Vorderer.cls September 27, 2005 13:36CHAPTER26Video Games for Entertainmentand EducationUte RitterfeldUniversity of Southern CaliforniaRen´eWeberMichigan State UniversityWhile the morality of games and their ethical implications in an educational context havebeen questioned from the very beginning of game technology evolution (e.g., McLean, 1978),video games1have become not only increasingly attractive for players of both genders (Burke,2000), various ethnicities (Bickham et al., 2003), and ages (IDSA, 2003), but are also utilizedmore and more for educational purposes (see, for example, the annual serious games summit,http://www.seriousgamessummit.com/). Thus, studying the education potential for this newand controversial medium is of tremendous importance.Although comprehensive effect theories on the specific impact of video game playing arestill missing, more than a decade of research provides us with an impressive body of litera-ture demonstrating mostly negative, but also significant positive effects (see, for introduction,Mitchell & Savill-Smith, 2004). The majority of research has focused on the potential negativeeffects of video game playing; however, this is due to an abundance of studies on violentgames and does not reflect the potential of video games as a medium. While Weber, Ritterfeld,and Kostygina (chap. 24) discuss the findings on violent video game playing, hostility, andaggression, Lee and Peng (chap. 22) as well as Lieberman (chap. 25) give a comprehensiveoverview on effect studies with an emphasis on learning, and Durkin (chap. 21) further elabo-rates the benefits of video game playing for adolescents. This chapter focuses on the potentialof video game playing to facilitate developmental processes through the unique combinationof interactive entertainment and learning, while at the same time taking a rather theoreticalperspective.The term “developmental processes” refers to an understanding of media usage and effectsin the context of human development. Human development is the result of continuous trans-actions between a person’s biological constitution and his or her physical, social, and mediaenvironment over the life span. According to this perspective, media usage is not random butalready reflects the developmental processes of a user who is selecting some media or con-tent over others, and processing it according to his or her developmental capacities, previous399P1: IMLLE128-26 LE128-Vorderer.cls September 27, 2005 13:36400 RITTERFELD AND WEBERexperiences, and current developmental needs. At the same time, the media usage influencesthe developmental processes of the user.Taking a developmental approach seriously results in proposing distinctly different chal-lenges for media usage and effect studies usually undertaken in the field of communication:(1) Impact studies should reflect evolving mental representations of the game content. Indi-viduals may interpret the same video game play in completely different ways. For instance,one person takes the video game world as a realistic simulation, whereas another reads it ina metaphoric or even ironic way (Potter & Tomasello, 2003). (2) The study of play (Ohler &Nieding, chap. 8) demonstrates clearly that play is not a random activity selected to overcomeboredom but rather a highly rational choice that serves the need of developmental processes.From that functionalist point of view, the selection of video games, as well as the video gameplay, serves the player’s developmental needs (Havighurst, 1971; see also Durkin, chap. 21).Accordingly, analyses of video game playing should take the developmental status of the playerinto account. (3) For a developmentalist, changes over time are crucial. Consequently, mediaimpact studies should overtake a longitudinal perspective, considering that media effects mayvary substantially in the realm of a person’s development.Vygotsky (1978) introduced the “zone of proximal development” to explain which inputcharacteristics are most likely to influence human development. According to his view, an inputis most influential if it matches the developmental stage of the person, that is, if it connects tothe established mental structure and extends it. This principle can be easily adopted to explainmedia effects, especially those of interactive media: If the user chooses the challenges he orshe can manage successfully, his or her mental organization is most likely influenced throughthe video game play. Vygotsky’s concept is compatible with the notion of developmentaltasks (Havighurst, 1971), which claims that individuals actively seek out challenges that areappropriate to master the improvement of cognitive, emotional, social, or behavioral skills.Accordingly, a player is expected to lose interest in a specific game if the game no longerprovides support in resolving developmental tasks.Similar to a child’s play in the first few years but in contrast to other media activities, videogame play offers the potential of utilizing interactive entertainment to improve developmentalprocesses in an age far beyond preschool years. Moreover, video game play accounts for highlyintrinsic activity leading to intense experiences of presence (Tamborini & Skalski, chapter 16),thus allowing for maximum focus on the activity and related information processing (Biocca,2002).As early as 1981, Malone introduced three factors of intrinsic motivation derived from videogame play: challenge, fantasy, and curiosity. According to Malone, “challenge” occurs in asituation of uncertain outcome. Prototypically, challenge is imposed through time constraints,competition with other players or avatars (social norm of reference) or previous results (indi-vidual norm of reference), and hence creates winners and losers. Winning a game is supposed toenhance motivation to play the game again if the games posed an adequate challenge (Malone,1981). However, recent findings indicate that losing a game can be intrinsically motivatingas well, if the player receives positive feedback for his or her effort (Vansteenkiste & Deci,2003). Nevertheless, the feedback does not take away negative feelings of disappointment.“Fantasy” is described as a state of cognitive and emotional involvement with the video gameplay facilitating game play skills. Most important, fantasy points to the virtual character of theexperience that allows overcoming boundaries real-life experiences would impose.